Apparatus for use in stripping wool cards



Nov. 15; 1938. E. CLARK APPARATUS FOR USE IN STRIPPING WOOL CARDS I Filed Dec. FLO, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Nov. 15, 1938. E. CLARK "APPARATUS FOR USE IN STRIPPING WOOL CARDS 4 Sheets-Shefr, 2

INVENTOR Nov. 15,1938. I E. CLARK 2,136,935

APPARATUS FOR USE IN STRIPPII IG WOOL CARDS Filed Dec. 10, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 'INVENTOR Nov. 15,, 1938. E. CLARK APPARATUS FOR USE IN STRIPPING WOOL CARDS Filed Dec. 10, 1956 INVENTOR ATTORNEY.

Patented Nov. 15, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR USE IN STRIPPING WOOL RDS 7 Claims.

This invention relates to wool cards, or, in other words, cards of the type in which rotary workers cooperate with the cylinder in performing the carding operation, as distinguished from the 5 so-called revolving flat cards used in carding cotton.

The fundamental purposes of carding wool are to separate the fibers, to free the fiber from foreign materials, and to arrange the fibers in a more or less parallel relationship to each other. As this operation progresses, the spaces between the needles or wire-s of the card clothing become filled with lint, dust, and other foreign materials which must be removed from time to time since otherwise they would make proper carding impossible. 'This cleaning operation is known as stripping. Although the length of the intervals at which stripping is necessary will vary with the character of the work, it usuallymust be performed at the end of every eight or ten hour run and in many cases at shorter periods.

While in recent years the stripping operation on the larger cylinders, such as the main and dofier cylinders, has been greatly facilitated by the application of vacuum stripping apparatus, which is permanently installed on the machines,

it is impractical to use such installations. for stripping the smaller rolls such as the worker and stripper rolls. Accordingly, it is necessary to per- 30 form this operation manually, Ordinarily the workmen push the rolls around by hand while they comb out the waste material with a hand card. If the machine is equipped for vacuum stripping, then a crank is attached to the worker or stripper roll and revolved by one workman while another runs a suction nozzle over the roll where it will remove the foreign material. Both methods are slow and involve extremely arduous labor. Furthermore, it is impossible for a man to revolve a Worker by hand at'th-e speed best adapted for vacuum stripping. By either method, therefore, the work is performed inefiiciently and the machine is kept out of production for a substantial percentage of each working day.

The present invention deals especially with the conditions above described. It aims to devisean apparatus with the aid of which the time and labor involved in stripping can be substantially reduced.

The nature of the invention will be readily understood from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a rear elevation of a power unit or motor provided by this invention for the purpose of revolving the worker shaft during the stripping operation;

Fig. 2 is a side View, chiefly diagrammatic in character, illustrating a portion of a wool card and showing the power unit applied to one of the workers Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the unit shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view approximately on the line 44, Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a sectional View on the line 55, Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view on the line 6-6, Fig. 1; and

Fig. 7 is a view, partly in vertical section and partly in side elevation, of another form of coupling which can be used in place of that shown in Fig. 6.

Referring first to Fig. 2, the main cylinder of a typical wool card is shown at 2, the licker-in at 3, the worker rolls at 4, the stripper rolls at 5, and a fancy at 6. Since the present invention is particularly concerned with the stripping of the auxiliary rolls which cooperate with the main. cylinder, such as the workers, strippers, fancy, and others, they will all, for convenience, be hereinafter included in the term workers.

The present invention provides a power unit designed to be applied directly to any worker to revolve that element for the stripping operation. This unit takes the place of the man. with the crank required by prior methods, as explained above. Because such a power unit must be shifted at very frequent intervals from one worker to another, it is important that it be light in weight and be self-supported. In addition, the unit must be reversible since in some machines it will be applied to the right-hand ends of the workers, whereas in other machines it must be usedv on the left-hand ends of said members. A further requirement is that such a unit revolve the shaft at a higher speed than is possible with manual operation.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 3 to 6. inclusive, a power unit is there shown which satisfies these requirements. It comprises a pneumatic motor designed to be operated by vacuum, since power is always available at a card, and connections enabling the workman to connect this unit instantly with, and to disconnect it from. any one of the workers. The unit includes a frame 8, Figs. 1 and 6, which supports the motor and certain of the connections just referred to. The motor is of the multicylinder type so that it will have no dead center, and it includes three cylinders 9 secured rigidly to the frame piece 8 and spaced 120 apart around the axis of the crank shaft III. For convenience in mounting the cylinders, the frame piece 8, which consists of a casting, may either have the cylinder heads |2 cast integral therewith or they may be cast separately and secured rigidly to the frame member. Each cylinder has a piston working in it, one of these pistons being shown in Fig. 1 at I3, and piston rods |4 connect the respective pistons with the crank pin l5, this pin being mounted in a crank arm l6 secured to the crank shaft l0. Preferably the bearings for both the crank shaft and the crank pin are of the ball, roller, or other anti-friction type.

The vacuum connections to the various cylinders include a nipple l1, Figs. 1 and 3, to which the end of the vacuum hose may be secured, the bore of this nipple communicating with a channel I8 which opens into a valve chamber 2| in the valve block 22 of a reversing valve 23, best shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5 From this valve chamher two short hose and pipe connections 24 and 25, respectively, Figs. 3 and 4, lead into front and rear channels 26 and 21, Fig. 6, of a distributing ring 28 which is bolted to the front face of the frame piece 8 and is co-axial with the shaft I0. The front side of the groove 26 is closed by a face plate 30, while the rear side of the groove 21 is closed by the frame piece. This ring distributes the air to the valve mechanisms for the respective cylinders, as will readily be understood by the illustration of the valves for the uppermost cylinder 9 shown in Fig. 6. The head I2 for this cylinder has air passages or ports drilled in it and communicating through pipe connections 3| and 32, Figs. 3 and 6, with the valve ports 33 and 34, respectively, which open into the respective distributing grooves 21 and 26. Two plunger valves 35 and 36 cooperate with these respective ports to open and close them at the proper times, these valves being operated by cam segments 3! and 38 on the cam roll 39 which is secured rigidly to the crank shaft I0. Each valve plunger is encircled by a coiled spring which tends to hold the lower ball end of the valve in contact with its respective cam segment.

Each of the other cylinders is equipped with a similar valve mechanism and with corresponding connections to the grooves in the distributor ring 28, all of these valves being controlled and operated by the cam segments 3'! and 38. Consequently, in each revolution of the crank shaft the valves will be operated at the desired times to subject the pistons successively to the negative pressure or suction of the vacuum line and sub sequently to cut off said suction and to admit air to the tops of the pistons, as desired, in order to produce a continuous rotative movement of the crankshaft II], the cams being properly timed and designed to give this result.

The direction of rotation of the motor is controlled by the reversing valve 23, which is best shown in Figs. 4 and 5. This valve comprises a metal tube fitting snugly, but slidably, in the bore of the valve block 22, and provided with a cut-out 40 of suflicient length to afford communication between the pressure port or chamber 2|, Fig. 5, and either one of the ports a or b with which the respective tubes 24 and 25 are connected. At opposite sides of the cut-out 40 the bore of the valve 23 is completely closed. by

partitions or disks 0 and d, and circular side ports e and are cut through the walls of the valve outside of these partitions to accommodate at the desired times with the respective ports a and b. At the back of the valve 23 three sockets g are provided, each adapted to receive a spring pressed ball 4|, Fig. 5, this ball serving to hold the valve yieldingly in any one of its three positions of adjustment. In its left-hand position, as shown in Fig. 4, it admits suction or negative pressure to the front distributing channel 26, and opens the inner channel 21 in the distributing ring to the atmosphere through the connection 25, ports I) and f, and the right-hand end portion, Fig. 4, of the valve. This will result, when suction is supplied through the hose connection to the nozzle I1, in revolving the motor in one direction. If now the valve plunger 23 is moved to its central position, the motor will be stopped because neither port a nor 1) then will be in communication with pressure port 2|, Fig. 5. If, however, the valve 23 is moved to its extreme right-hand position, then the direction of rotation of the motor will be reversed. It should be noted that this reversing valve is mounted at the upper end of the handle 20 where it is within convenient reach of the thumb and fingers of the operator so that he can slide the valve in either direction without releasing his hold on the handle.

In order to enable the operator to instantly connect the power unit to any worker shaft, or to disconnect it therefrom, a considerable variety of arrangements may be used. That shown in Fig. 6 includes a sleeve 42 secured rigidly on the end portion of the worker shaft 43, this sleeve being provided with a hexagonal, octagonal, or other fiat-sided shape in transverse section. The power unit includes a hollow shaft 44 having an internal bore 45 complemental in shape to the cross-sectional form of the sleeve 42. In the arrangement illustrated both are of octagonal form and the sleeve fits very loosely inside the bore of the hollow shaft. This shaft has a gear 46 integral with it and meshing with a pinion 41 secured fast on the crank shaft H] of the motor, a cover plate 48 being provided to enclose this gearing at the front side of the unit and being rigidly secured to the frame piece 8 so that it can also be utilized as the support for the front ball bearing for the crank shaft I0.

In using this device it is connected with a suction hose, as shown in Fig. 2, and the workman simply slides the unit axially over the end of a worker shaft equipped with a sleeve 42, as indicated in said figure. Preferably the sleeve is provided with an integral collar 5| which serves as a stop or abutment for arresting the movement of the unit when it has been slipped on to the collar for a proper distance. The workman swings the unit in a direction opposite to that in which it is to drive the worker until it comes to rest upon any adjacent part of the machine and then throws the valve 23 to start the motor up into the proper direction. He then leaves the power unit running in this position and supported solely by its engagement with the worker shaft and its loose contact with an adjacent part of the machine While he runs the suction hose over the surface of the worker in the usual manner to strip it. As soon as this operation has been completed on one worker he shuts off the motor, withdraws it from engagement with the worker shaft and moves on to the next one, and so on,

' repeating these operations at each successive worker. Each worker shaft is permanently equipped with its own sleeve 42 so that the connection of the power unit to any worker simply involves sliding it axially over the end portion of the shaft. Thus the workman is enabled to proceed rapidly with the stripping operation on all of the workers of the entire set. He can perform this operation more rapidly than otherwise would be possible because of the fact. that the worker can be driven at a faster speed than has been possible manually and at a rate best adapted to efiicient stripping. By using light weight alloys wherever possible in the manufacture of the unit, it can be made so light in weight that the handling of it in the manner required is not arduous. It should be observed that the hollow shaft 44 is so offset with reference to the pistons that either end of the shaft may be slipped over the sleeve 42 and against the collar 5|. Thus the operator may work from either side of the card that is'most convenient. It will, of course, be understood that prior to starting the stripping operation the machine has been shut down and the usual driving chain or belt which operates the workers has been disconnected from them.

The inertia of the workers is very substantial, and in order to reduce the shock initially produced in starting up one of these elements, it is often desirable to introduce a shock absorbing device somewhere in the connections between the motor and the worker shaft. An arrangement adapted for this purpose is illustrated in Fig. '7. As there shown the hollow shaft 44 of the construction above described has been replaced with a shaft 54 having a wall of reduced thickness and provided with a bore of circular cross-sectional form. A supplemental shaft 55 is relatively mounted inside of the shaft 54 and this supplemental shaft is provided with a bore of octagonal cross-sectional shape to receive loosely the sleeve 42 in the same manner that it is received by the shaft 54 of the construction above described. Be

tween these two members 54 and 55 a heavy coiled spring 56 is interposed, the two ends of this spring being secured to the parts 54 and 55, respectively, and the body of the spring encircling the latter shaft. This spring should be of such dimensions that in its normal or untensioned condition it will occupy a space approximately midway between the outer surface of the part 55 and the inner wall of the member 54. Consequently, when the motor is started up after the unit has been placed on the end of a worker shaft, rotation in one direction will first have the effect of winding up the spring 55 until it tightly grips the surface of the shaft 55, after which this member will be compelled to rotate with the driving sleeve 54. In the meantime, however, the act of winding up the spring has created a gradually increasing torque which preferably will initiate the rotation of the worker shaft before the spring is completely tightened around the member 55. In any event, it will cushion the shock that otherwise would be produced by the inertia of the worker. If the rotation of the driving shaft 54 is in the opposite direction, then the same action will be produced, but in this instance the spring 56 will be unwound and expanded into contact with the bore of the shaft 54, the driving torque increasing as the expansion of the spring progresses.

As above stated, it is convenient to operate the motor by suction since the stripping operation preferably is performed by the vacuum method. If for any reason, however, it should be desired to operate the motor by air under pressure, the identical construction above described can be used, a compressed air hose being connected to the power unit instead of a suction hose. The only difference would be that with a given adjustment of the valve 23, the motor would run in the opposite direction from that produced by suction.

While I have herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied in other forms without departing from the spirit or scope thereof.

Having thus described my invention, what I desire toclaim as new is:

l. A wool card including workers, in combination with a motor removably mounted on the end of one of said workers and operative to revolve said worker independently of the others, the connection between said motor and said shaft including coupling means axially slidable on the shaft of any of said workers, whereby the motor may be instantly connected with, or disconnected from, any selected worker.

2. A wool card including workers, in combination with a motor removably mounted on the end of one of said workers and operative to revolve said worker independently of the others, said motor being supported by said Worker shaft and by loose engagement with an adjacent part of the machine, whereby it may be quickly connected with, or disconnected from, the worker shaft.

3. A wool card including workers, in combination with a motor independent of said card but removably mounted on the end of one of said workers and operative to revolve the latter worker independently of the others, and means for releasably and rotatively connecting said motor with the shaft of any of said workers.

4. A wool card including workers, in combination with a motor for driving said workers selectively and independently of each other and independently also of the mechanism with which the machine is equipped for driving them, and means for operatively connecting said motor with any one of said workers, said connecting means being readily releasable to permit the connection of the motor to any selected worker.

5. A wool card including workers, in combination with a motor for driving said workers selectively and independently of each other and independently also of the mechanism with which the machine is equipped for driving them, and means for operatively connectng said motor with a worker including interengaging parts on said motor and the shaft of each worker, whereby the motor may be shifted from one worker to another as desired.

6. A wool card including Workers and mechanism for driving said workers to cause them to perform their normal functions, in combination with a motor releasably mounted on the end of one of said workers and operative to drive it independently of the others during the stripping operation.

7. A wool card including workers and mechanism for driving said workers to cause them to perform their normal functions, in combination with a pneumatic motor releasably mounted on the end of one of said workers and operative to revolve it independently of the others during the stripping operation.

ERNEST CLARK. 

